Corsair Hall of Fame Class of 2004

Mike Silva '74A 1974 graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts University,
Mike Silva has long established connections to the university's
Athletic Department as a coach, an employee and as an outstanding
member of the southeastern Massachusetts sports community. After
graduating from SMU with a degree in Marketing, Silva returned to
the Dartmouth campus to work as the Assistant Director of Sports
Information in 1975. Silva's journalism career began as an
undergraduate, covering SMU sports for The Standard-Times from 1972
through 1974. In 1975, Silva was named Sports Editor of The
Taunton Gazette, a position he held until 1991, when he left for
his current position, Executive Sports Editor of The Herald News in
Fall River, MA. Silva has always remained close to the local
collegiate and high school athletic scene, first serving as the SMU
golf coach from 1979 until 1991, compiling a record of 38-19 in his
nine seasons. Silva also returned to SMU to work in the
Sports Information Department from 1985 through 1991. Silva has
also been the junior varsity basketball coach at Dighton Rehoboth
High School since 1991 in addition to being a high school softball
and field hockey official. Silva's commitment to UMass
Dartmouth Athletics was first recognized in 1988 when he received
the John Frye Alumni Service Award. He has been an active
member of the Corsair Hall of Fame Committee for the last six
years.

Susan (Powers) Tanner `80
A 1980 graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts University, Susan
(Power) Tanner was the Corsairs' top women's tennis player
throughout her four-year career. During an era when the SMU
women's tennis teams competed against schools like Boston
University, Providence College and Holy Cross, Tanner dominated her
opponents as the Corsairs' #1 singles player. The best
evidence of Tanner's stature in tennis is her personal winning
streak which stretched across three seasons. Entering her
senior season, which was cut short due to a wrist injury, Tanner
lost only one match in three seasons. The streak started in
her first season when a leg injury in the first set of a match led
to a loss. Throughout the next three seasons and into her senior
year she never lost another match. During her senior season,
Tanner won five matches and never lost a single set and was never
forced into a tiebreaker. With a playing style described by
The Torch in a 1979 story as "mechanical grace and
precision." "She outlasts an opponent", wrote a Torch
sportswriter during her final season. "There is seemingly no
ball she can not reach. Coordination. Anticipation. That is Sue
Powers on a tennis court. She draws her racquet back
smoothly, evenly. She waits for the ball to come to her and
she just drives into it. Legs, arms, shoulders work as a unit
and the ball rockets back, meanly low, and explodes on the other
court. Meanwhile, Sue Powers is already moving, ready for the
return if there is one."

Eamon Kingman `89

Kingman was a 1989 graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts
University and played on some of the best Corsair baseball teams in
the last thirty years. During his four-year career, the
Corsairs posted an 86-58 overall record with appearances in the
NCAA and ECAC baseball tournaments. In a career filled with
outstanding efforts, both offensive and defensive, Kingman had one
of the best individual offensive seasons in the history of UMass
Dartmouth baseball. In 1988 as a sophomore, the Corsairs were
26-15 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Kingman led the
team in hitting with a .459 batting average, the second best single
season average in the program's history. Kingman's name also
appears in a tie for 17th in the same category after hitting. 402
as a senior in 1990. During his record setting sophomore
season, Kingman had 39 doubles (tied for 22nd all-time), 56 hits
(tied for 23rd all time) and 19 stolen bases (tied for 21st all
time). Kingman's name is all over the Corsairs all time
career record book. As evidence of what an all around player
he was for Coach Bruce Wheeler's Corsairs, Kingman is fourth all
time in assists from his second base position with 370. He
ranks among the top in several other career marks including batting
average (8th .357), runs scored (10th 110), hits (11th, 152),
stolen bases (13th, 47) games played (tied for 16th, 136), at bats
(18th, 434) among several others. In total, Kingman appears
in the top 25 of 11 different offensive and defensive career
record.

Ian Toal `90

A 1990 graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts University, Toal
swam four seasons for Coach Jim Filippo's men's team, from 1986
through 1990. At the end of his career, he had qualified for
four NCAA Div III National Championships, earning four NCAA
All-America Honorable Mention awards and was a two-time record
setting New England champion. As a freshman, Toal was
fifth in the 50 Free at the All Division New Englands and qualified
for the NCAA Nationals, placing 27th overall. His career took
off as a sophomore when he earned NCAA All-America Honorable
Mention in the 50 Free as well as the 400 Free and as part of the
Corsairs' 400 medley relay team. In 1988, Toal had six
finishes of at least fourth or better at the Div. III New Englands
and qualified for nationals in four events. Toal won his
first New England championship, setting a New England record in
winning the 50 Free. An NCAA National qualifier in four events,
Toal was 11th in the 400 Free Relay, a 13th in the 50 Free, 14th in
400 medley relay and 18th in the 100 Free. 1990 was his final
season at SMU and Toal made the most of it. At the Div. III
New Englands, he was once again the New England champion in the 200
Free Relay, setting a new meet record for a second
time. He was second in the 50 Free and 100 Free, third
in the 400 Free Relay, 200 Medley Relay and fourth in the 400
Medley Relay. In his fourth and final appearance at the NCAA
Nationals Toal was an NCAA All-America honorable mention in the 200
Free Relay (10th) and the 400 Free Relay, while competing in a
total of five events, with his 17th place in the 50 Free his best
effort.

Scott Pearsons `90
A 1990 graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts University, Scott
Pearsons is the 10th member of the Corsair ice hockey program to be
inducted into the UMass Dartmouth Hall of Fame. Described by
his coach John Rolli as "a lanky and acrobatic goaltender,"
Pearsons was in net for the Corsairs when they won the 1989 ECAC
Championship. That night he stopped 32 shots in a 4-2 win
over Iona College and was named the Most Valuable Player of the
Game. In his first season with the Corsairs, Pearsons
finished the regular season with three consecutive shutout wins and
set an ECAC Division II/III record for holding opponents scoreless
for 211:37 over a four game span. As a senior in 1990,
Pearsons was selected as the ECAC co-MVP as well as an ECAC and New
England Hockey Writers All-Star. For his career, Pearsons
tops all UMass Dartmouth goalies with 11 career shutouts, 87 games
played and 66 career wins, while posting a .898 saves percentage
and a 2.65 goals against average. He currently ranks fourth among
all UMass Dartmouth goalies with a career record of 66-19-1 for a
773 winning percentage. At the conclusion of his senior
season, he was recognized as the team's Most Valuable Player and
selected for the Ken Whitten Corsairs Award. After
graduation, Pearsons was an assistant ice hockey coach for three
seasons and was part of the 1993 ECAC championship team.

Deon Barrett `95
Deon Barrett was a 1995 graduate of UMass Dartmouth and one of the
most dominant cross country runners of his era. Barrett was part of
Coach Jon Hird's cross country team for four seasons and was an
outstanding runner and leader throughout his collegiate
career. A four-time team captain, Barrett was the Little East
Conference Cross Country champion for three straight seasons as
part of a run of seven consecutive LEC men's cross country titles
for UMass Dartmouth. Competing against the top cross country
runners from all NCAA divisions in the Open New Englands, Barrett
finished 27th in 1992 and 18th in 1993.
At the 1992 NCAA Regional Championships, Barrett placed 23rd
overall and improved that finish to 11th the
following season in 1993. He capped his career as a senior with a
fifth place effort in the 1994 New England Regionals. In his
final cross country race of his career for UMass Dartmouth, Barrett
placed 24th in the country at the NCAA Division III
championship race held in Bethlehem PA, earning All-America
distinction as one of the top cross country runners in the
country. Barrett remains in the cross country record books at
UMass Dartmouth, ranked seventh on the all-time list on the
Corsairs home cross country course.

Kirsten (Watters) Modestow `95
Kirsten Watters Modestow was a two-time NCAA Division III
All-America swimmer who dominated the pool during her years at
UMass Dartmouth. A 1995 graduate, Modestow was one of the top
swimmers in New England as well as the country while she competed
for two seasons with Coach Jim Filippo's Corsairs. After two years
at an NCAA Division I school, Modestow transferred to UMass
Dartmouth and immediately had an impact on the Corsairs swim
program. After earning All-America distinction as a junior,
Modestow capped her brief career at UMass Dartmouth with an
outstanding senior season. At the Division III New England
championships held at Bowdoin College, Modestow earned All-New
England honors in three events. In her final swim meet for
the Corsairs, Modestow finished 8th overall in the 200
Free with a time of 1:55.7 to earn her second All-America honors
from the National Swimming Coaches Association. More evidence
of her standout career can be round by reviewing the UMass
Dartmouth swimming and diving record book. Modestow's name
appears as a school record holder in more events than any other
woman swimmer in school history. She holds six individual
school records, more than any other individual swimmer in UMass
Dartmouth history and remains the record holder in the following
events, almost ten years after she last swam for UMass Dartmouth:
500 Free in 5:05.03, 200 Free in 1:55.11, 50 Free in 24.82, 100
Back in 1:01.67, 50 Back in 29.32 and 100 IM in 1:02.11 She was
also a member of two other record holding relay teams, the 400 Free
Relay and the 800 Free Relay.

Warren Preti

Warren Preti is being inducted into the UMass Dartmouth
Corsair Athletic Hall of Fame in recognition of an outstanding
career as men's and women's tennis coach at UMass Dartmouth from
1989 through 2001. Among Preti's many coaching career highlights
was a string of 9 consecutive Little East Conference tennis
championships including both men's and women's tennis teams.
In 12 seasons as head men's tennis coach and another 10 seasons
leading the Corsair women, Preti's teams posted a record of
176-87-2. As the men's tennis coach, Preti compiled an impressive
record of 104-34-1, including 6 consecutive Little East Conference
men's tennis championships dating back to 1996. Prior to the
1999 season, Preti had also served as the Corsairs' women's team
coach for 10 seasons, capturing three consecutive LEC women's
championships, beginning in 1996. A standout collegiate
tennis player at Bridgewater State College from 1964 through 1968,
Preti turned UMass Dartmouth's men's tennis program into one of the
most successful Division III programs in New England. Preti
coached the top men's singles player in the LEC in five of the last
seven seasons. From 1995 through 1999, the #1 singles
champion in the LEC was a UMass Dartmouth Corsair. Preti was almost
as successful with the UMass Dartmouth women's tennis program as
well. Preti took over the women's team prior to the 1989
season. During his 10 years with the women's team, UMass
Dartmouth compiled a record of 72-53-1, including three consecutive
Little East Conference championships. During those three
years, Preti's Corsairs earned 30 wins against only 8 losses and
one tie. In the three consecutive LEC championships, UMass
Dartmouth women captured 12 of 18 singles titles and 7 of 9 doubles
championships.

1992-93 men's basketball team

Led by the play of All-America center Steve Haynes, the 1992-93
Corsair mens' basketball team put together the finest season in
program history with a 25-6 overall record, a berth in the NCAA
Division III national championship tournament. That season,
SMU captivated the region by capturing both the Little East
Conference regular season and post season tournament, earning a bid
in the NCAA tournament. With three tournament victories the
Corsairs advanced further than any team in school history, reaching
the NCAA Division III Final Four. Head coach Brian Baptiste,
assistants Len Desautels and Sal Mondelo had a deep and talented
roster led by Haynes, a Division III All America, who also was the
ECAC and LEC Player of the Year along with being an All Tournament
selection. Aaron Lee was an LEC Tournament All-Star, as well
as an NCAA Sectional All Tournament team choice along with being
named an LEC and ECAC First Team selection. Stefan Pagios was
also an LEC All Star as well as being named LEC Tournament MVP and
NCAA Sectional MVP. After opening the season with a pair of
wins to take the Hartwick College Tournament, UMass Dartmouth was
6-4 at the holiday break. Starting with a 113-107 overtime win over
Salem State, the Corsairs ran off 19 straight wins, the nation's
longest win streak at the time. UMass Dartmouth took the LEC
regular season title, captured the LEC Tournament title and
advanced to the Final four with wins over Westfield State
(90-81), SUNY Geneseo (68-66) and a fourth win in one season over
Eastern Connecticut (75-64). The Corsairs dreams of a national
title fell one point short in the national semi-final game when
UMass Dartmouth lost to Ohio Northern, 74-73, and followed with a
95-74 loss to Rowan in the national consolation game.